Back to the Past: The Tale of Rita Akashi
by Lucia-Theresa Horizon
Summary: [Full summary inside] Rita Akashi would be an ordinary 7-year-old if she didn't dream about the world of Naruto even before she knows about the manga. She gets her answer one day when she's sucked inside this very world by the hands of a mysterious figure. What's her real relationship towards the characters in this new world, and will her existence change anything?


**Disclaimer:** Naruto belongs to Kishi-sensei. I only own the story and a few new characters in it.

**Author: **Lucia

**Rating:** T to be safe

**Pairings: **Haha… Just keep reading. May contain both shounen-ai and shoujo-ai. You have been warned.

**Summary:** Rita Akashi often sees visions of her previous lifetime in her dreams, but only thinks of them as the result of reading Naruto too much. However, she has to change her viewpoint after being taken into the world of the manga and also the world of her past self - the jinchuuriki of Nekomata's twin brother, a half demon named Maroku. What is her connection with everything that's going to happen in the story? Will her existence change anything? And why on earth is Masashi Kishimoto even related to all of this mess?

**Note:** Don't worry, I'm not going to let my Rita-chan become the super-strong heroine and save everybody's sorry ass. I've never been fond of Mary Sues. I will use her to observe other characters as well as alter the plot (NOT to a happier or sadder ending, thank you, tragedies will remain tragedies) and that's IT. Dattebayo.

**Chapter 1: A New World?**

The Akashi residence, though known as one of the most tranquil areas in Tokyo, was drastically brought out of its usual quietness by a loud shriek coming from none other than its youngest inhabitant – Rita Akashi.

The silent night was no longer silent as said seven-year-old redhead continued her ranting at an alarming speed and volume. It would have been understandable if the cause had been a terrible nightmare. However…

"YESSSS!" screamed the girl mercilessly, her neighbors' welfare completely thrown out of the window. "FINALLY I GOT TO SEE ITACHI-SAMA IN ACTION!"

If you are a fan of the famous manga named Naruto, you must have had a good guess in mind as to what our innocent protagonist had previously dreamt about in her slumber. Rita Akashi's fondness for the series was infamous among the people who knew the peculiar girl, especially her poor neighbors who happened to be her uncle and aunt. Tetsuya and Yuuki Akashi could only sigh in defeat at the disturbing noises their only niece was making. When would she learn to keep that thunderous voice down so that they could grab some sleep before work the next day?

Meanwhile, the oblivious redhead was too busy celebrating her latest dream to actually remember it was only 2 am.

Rita Akashi had started having dreams about the world of Naruto even before she learnt about the manga.

They would come to her, stealthily but naturally, when she closed her eyes at night. The energetic blonde boy with eyes bluer than the sky itself, the aloof dark-haired prodigy with an angsty expression stuck on his face all the time, the annoying but cute pinkette who reminded her of cherry blossoms… all looked oddly familiar to her. Gradually, the redhead got so used to seeing the group in her sleep that she began to think of them as friends – her only friends after her parents' deaths. She would sometimes participate in their activities including catching a certain mischievous cat, cleaning someone's house, or escorting a fisherman on his way home in a country surrounded by the sea – the list went on. Only after her 5th birthday, the day her uncle gifted her with the first volumn of Naruto, did she know she had been dreaming of the manga's characters all along.

It was indeed strange, but nevertheless Rita considered it fate. As time passed by, she became more and more engrossed in the life of each person in the story, imagining what she would do if she were to live in such a mysterious and exciting world. Her favorite character was Itachi Uchiha – the "aloof prodigy" 's older brother, and she only adored him more after learning about his sacrifice for Konohagakure; which had ultimately led to the above incident. No, she was definitely _not_ the type of fangirls who worshipped the ground their celebrities walked on and squealed like crazy whenever they appeared – she just happened to like him better than the other characters.

The next morning, Rita found herself in front of the local bookstore, obviously in the mood of hunting down yet another volumn of the manga before going to school. Naruto always managed to brighten up her day despite whichever evil class she had to attend. Sleeping through most of the periods and skipping the rest, she hurriedly walked back home in the afternoon to get her hands on the manga as soon as possible. She used to love school, but that was before some nasty kids decided to gang up on her for no reason and her teachers would not do anything about it. It was the reason why she resolved to self-study with the help of her uncle. Tetsuya was inspiring, and Rita loved the man.

Once she had stepped inside her room – the only one occupied besides the kitchen, the living room and the bathroom, she put out the latest volumn of her favorite manga and read. She still had another hour before her aunt came by and made dinner. Soon, she was lost in the wonderful adventures and unveiled secrets.

Little did she know that a man in black had found his way up her window with a surreal plan on his mind.

Rita finished the book in fifteen minutes and was now rereading the entire series all over again – a habit that she herself found amusing. Her astonishing red hair – the signature of the Akashi clan – swung from left to right as she laughed and cried along with the characters; sparkling green eyes traced the lively images and dialogues, letting her own creativity go wild. Usually, she would be done with this activity in less than thirty minutes. However, this time her gaze uncharacteristically fixed itself on a single page no matter how hard she tried to look away.

The page depicted Minato Namikaze and his wife, Kushina Uzumaki who was holding a small baby in her arms. She could not help but smile at the scene. How she wished her parents had been alive still…

Suddenly, Rita felt a strong wind coming from the window behind her, and the ceiling slowly became the floor as she was plunged into the abyss. The man in black grinned widely, the room reflected in his black orbs no longer holding the redhead.

The pages turned and turned, but there was no finger above them.

Naruto Uzumaki is beyond pissed.

He slams the door behind him, dangerously shaking the thin walls of his run-down apartment. Ignoring the pain shot up from his hand, the blonde proceeds to the bathroom and grabs the only towel he has. Staring back at him from the mirror is a twisted, yellow image of a bruised and dirty six-year-old.

"Ouch… That hurts…" he whines, slightly touching the small bump forming on his forehead. The blonde knows it will go away really soon – none of his wounds ever lasts for more than fifteen minutes anyway. Nevertheless, he hates the aching.

This is not the first time he has been hit by the angry villagers, but what irks him the most is _why_. He has never touched them or their children, shouted at them with obscenities, or even glared at them for that matter. Yet, he gets beaten all the time, and it only takes a turn for the worse on his birthday.

Which is today.

He should have known better than stepping out of the house, he concludes. But he needed instant ramen and milk because he had run out of those, and he didn't really want to entertain the idea of starving himself to death. Well, tough luck.

After waiting for the scratches and cuts to close up and the bumps to stop swelling, Naruto is determined to sleep through the day and avoid trouble as long as he can. Tumbling out of the bathroom, the blue-eyed child heads for the make-shift bed…

That is, if nothing intrudes the action.

However, the Goddess of Luck seems to be in the mood of taunting him. Just as Naruto is about to jump in his bed to seek comfort and blissful oblivion, something falls on his body and crushes him onto the floor. Groaning as he feels another bump on his head, he struggles to pry away from the object of doom which has stunningly red hair -

- Wait a minute.

Since when did any of his few possessions own red hair?

Heck, even he himself does not have red hair.

Curiosity gets the best of him, and the blonde tip-toes towards said "object". As if on cue, the red hair begins moving upwards, revealing a pair of green _eyes_…

Is he dreaming? This is a real _person_. A person has just fallen onto him from the sky. Said person has red hair and green eyes and she is not dead and she is moving and - Oh Kami he must be dreaming he must be dreaming he MUST BE DREAMING.

While the poor boy stands frozen in shock, the redhead stirs, trying to take in the surroundings. She must have fallen asleep, or worse – fainted. But this wooden floor certainly does not belong to her room or her uncle's house. The tattered room is bright with sunlight, dedicating it is not nighttime yet. And her gaze travels up and up until she sees sparkling blue eyes and a spiky mop of blonde hair…

What the fuck?

_No, it can't be._ Rita stares at the figure in front of her, not wanting to believe in her own eyes.

It is definitely _the_ Naruto Uzumaki.

She pinches her right arm. It hurts. _So this is not a dream._

Suddenly, a piercing scream makes her ears go temporarily deaf. It takes her a moment to realize it was Naruto's – the boy must be thinking she is a ghost, and according to what she has read about him, she has a feeling that he is downright scared of those creepy figures.

Before she gets to tell him to calm down, a strong arm wraps around her and a pressure on the back of her neck makes the world go black all over again.

Konoha has reached another autumn and is on the way to approach winter, which gifts its people with breezes of light wind and pleasant warmth, unlike the terrible heat and humidity in summer.

Although it is a nice day to enjoy, the third Hokage cannot bring himself to appreciate the cool weather. Today is October 10th. The villagers are busy preparing for one of Konoha's biggest festivals, celebrating the Demon Fox's defeat six years ago and mourning over their Forth Hokage's death. To them, Minato Namikaze is more than a hero, but his very child who bears the burden of having said demon sealed within him…

His trail of thoughts drifts to Naruto again. The aged man cannot help but wonder if the boy is okay. Ever since the orphanage kicked him out, the poor child has been suffering maltreatment from most of the people, including a large number of shinobis. Despite knowing the painful truth, he could only protect Naruto in secret and hope he would get strong enough to shield himself from them in the future.

A soft knock on his office's door brings the Hokage out of his thoughts. He sighs.

"Come on in." An ANBU in a wolf mask enters the room and bows.

"Hokage-sama. We have found an intruder at Naruto Uzumaki's apartment this morning."

Another ANBU steps inside with an unconscious redhead over his right shoulder. The most powerful man in the entire village's eyes narrow to take in the sight of said intruder, who has already been laid on the floor.

"We are afraid this could be an attempt to steal the jinchuuriki from us." The wolf ANBU continued. "Despite her looks, she might be a spy from Iwa or…"

"That's enough, Kakashi. Don't jump to conclusions so fast."

Hiruzen Sarutobi runs his hands over the barely seven-year-old girl's body for a quick check. There is no sign of any manipulation jutsu being used on her, but her chakra flow all directs to her abdomen – an abnormally large chakra pool is lying there. Ignoring the two ANBUs' concern, the Hokage lifts up a part of the redhead's shirt and applies his own chakra on her abdomen. Ancient letters and drawings gradually appear, revealing an all-too-familiar seal.

He shudders in remembrance.

"Hokage-same, is she…"

"Yes. This girl is a jinchuuriki, just like our Naruto. Also, given her distinct red hair, I can safely say that…" Hiruzen pauses to look at the sleeping face beneath him endearingly. "… our Rita-chan… is back."

Silence.

"… You don't mean that she is indeed the missing child from all those years ago, right?" Kakashi broke the uncomfortable silence after a good ten minutes.

"We can confirm it later. What happened to Naruto?"

"Well… He fainted. She fell right onto his head. I also think that the villagers had acted up against him earlier."

"Again…" Rubbing his forehead, the Third retreats back to his seat. "Kakashi, Koichirou, you two take this young lady to Inoichi's house. He should be resting at home today after the last mission I gave him, but we've got no other choices. Tell him to dig into her head and see if our assumptions are correct. Don't spell a word about this to anyone else."

Two nods and the ANBUs disappeared along with the new-found jinchuuriki in a puff of smoke.

**End Chapter 1**

A/N: what do you think so far? I've got a very twisted idea in mind about what would happen to the Uchihas and the Hyuugas. By the way, Rita-chan is now 7, and Naruto and his would-be friends are 6. They are going to enter the academy soon. Reviews please, I'd love to have some feedbacks. If you're curious about the above twisted idea of mine, feel free to message and I'll give you a hint! Cookies to everybody that can guess exactly what I think.


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